We said farewell to a lot of things in the year 2000. At this point you should feel free to trawl Wikipedia for a list of said entities. What you won’t find there, however, is mention of the eleventh and final season of Moviedrome, the show going out with something of a whimper on July 11th, the same day we also bid farewell to former Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie.
At least the film that closed out the series, Lamont Johnson’s The Last American Hero, was a bona fide cult movie; a title that sits far less well on the shoulders of the two pictures shown as part of a ‘Guilty Pleasures’ double-bill; the French rave picture Clubbed To Death and the particularly regrettable Jackie Chan actioner Rumble In The Bronx. One might also argue that, though rather good, Bob Rafelson’s Blood And Wine was a bit mainstream for the ‘Drome.
For the most part, though, the problem with Season 11 wasn’t the quality but the quantity. Comprising a measly 12 movies and shown over seven very short weeks, there was a definite ‘closing down sale’ feel about things. This even extended to Mark Cousins’ intros which now took place in a very white room, his remarks aggressively slashed into a series of chapters.
Oh well, at least Messrs Cousins and Freand-Jones didn’t skimp on their final film selections. From kicking off with a double-bill of Blood And Wine and René Clément’s Plein Soleil to dedicating an evening to the cinema of Nic Roeg, we would at least be left with some fond memories. Heck, there were even genuine surprises such as a pair of Ida Lupino pictures - The Hitch-Hiker and On Dangerous Ground - together with Steven Soderbergh’s underrated The Underneath and Don Siegel’s stab at The Killers, Robert Siodmak’s adaptation having been show in Year Nine.
And the undisputed pick of the bunch? A very rare outing for Donald Cammell’s serial killer thriller White Of The Eye about which you can read more elsewhere on this site.
As the need remains for a film strand that’s prepared to play niche pictures, I myself don’t favour Moviedrome’s resurrection - it’s too much Alex, Mark and Nick’s baby
to be entrusted to the care of someone else. Were it to be revived, however, I would hope the producers would once again turn to an established director to pull the whole thing together.
In such circumstances, I suppose the smart money would be on someone like Ben Wheatley or Edgar Wright. Both of whom would be great but, since a Moviedrome revival would provide the greatest possible excuse to shake things up, I believe Prevenge’s Alice Lowe would make a very good fist as the first dame of the ‘Drome.
Moviedrome - Season Eleven (2000)
Blood And Wine (May 14th, 9.55pm)/Plein Soleil (May 14th, 11.35pm)
Rumble In The Bronx (May 21st, 9.55pm)/Clubbed To Death (May 21st, 11.25pm)
The Underneath (June 4th, 10pm)/The Hitch-Hiker (June 4th, 11.40pm)
The Killers (June 11th, 10pm)/On Dangerous Ground (June 11th, 11.40pm)
Walkabout (June 18th, 10pm)/Don’t Look Now (June 18th, 11.40pm)
White Of The Eye (July 2nd, 11.25pm)
The Last American Hero (July 10th, 12.20am)